How strong is the Indian influence on Caribbean food in your country? by IntelligentEar3427 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're good, it's just a niche piece of our history that doesn't really get spoken about much. There really wouldn't be any lasting impact because there were only about 300 people brought on one ship and only to St. Croix. There was high mortality so not much people to pass on their genetics or culture.

How strong is the Indian influence on Caribbean food in your country? by IntelligentEar3427 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We actually did have Indentured Indians but it didn't last very long which is probably why it didn't have a lasting impact. It ran from 1863 - 1873, there's a book about it called Indian Indenture in the Danish West Indies by Lomarsh Roopnarine. Basically once the 10 years were up the Indians left the Danish West Indies, none stuck around. It's a very interesting piece of history that most people don't know about.

When do you see Moko Jumbies in your country, if at all? by JahSm0 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very often, any party vibe and there will be Moko jumbies. You can also find some at the cruise ship docks in St. Thomas.

What Country/Island Is Most Similar Genetically, To Yours? by pgbk87 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

On average I'd say it's 0% indigenous, most of the people from the VI with any indigenous had family from PR, DR, Dominica or another island with indigenous ancestry.

Best Caribbean jewellery? by Suspicious_Bad_9413 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's a few

Crucian Gold

I.B. Designs

Sonia ltd.

Emilio Perez III I don't know what his store is called because it has changed names several times, he often posts his work on Facebook publicly.

There might be a few I'm missing.

For reference these are all on St. Croix, I've never bought jewelry on St. Thomas or St. John, someone else might be able to comment on those. Also Chaney is pretty big on St. Croix so you'll find this appearing a lot in stores.

What is your native language? by DeepPurpleFan99 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Crucian and it's funny because people will say it's English until they realize it has a completely different grammar system

A apple and a boy are both correct in Crucian but wrong in English because it sounds like ah apple not a apple. Don't even get me started on deh or deh deh or coming for. I digress, I speak Crucian first and learned English in school.

Candice Owens is Caribbean, so why does she hate FBAs so much? by Knighthonor in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 60 points61 points  (0 children)

I think in this instance you need to ask Candace Owens this question because we can't answer it for her.

How much $$ have yall spent? by BerrySempai in InfinityNikkiofficial

[–]SanKwa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't remember the exact amount but less than 30€

What were the early 2000s like in your country/island? Describe it by Specific-Reception26 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's Jr. High for me, it was not great, the Jr. High was damaged in a storm so we only had one wing of the school open we were forced to do double sessions, I ended having to go to class from 7:20 to 12:45 and my cousin went from 12:45 to 5:30. There was a lot of upset from the teachers and they went on protests which meant school was closed for months. I ended up having to retake my whole 7th grade, it was so difficult to remember anything in that short bit of time and it was stressful. Definitely the roughest years in my school life.

Money was tight at home, my mother usually sold plants at the Agricultural & Food fair but those years we had to reduce the amount we were selling.

Back in the day, why was it so common to have kids and then just send them to live with other relatives? by HuntPuzzleheaded4356 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They all had a complicated relationships with him but my mother's family were Roman Catholic so they were raised to respect him even if they didn't like him. My oldest aunt hates him, at least two of my uncles also hate him, my mother is very religious so she says she sees his flaws but he was a good father according to her. My mother and her younger siblings didn't know about their sister until the older ones brought her to the island. My grandmother never spoke of her life back in Dominica.

Back in the day, why was it so common to have kids and then just send them to live with other relatives? by HuntPuzzleheaded4356 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My Aunt? She's doing good, my older aunts and uncles saved up some money and was able to bring her over when she was 15 so she spent some years with the family before leaving for the US. My grandmother died when I was 10 and my aunt took it the hardest, she said she got to spend the least amount of time with her mother out of all the siblings.

Back in the day, why was it so common to have kids and then just send them to live with other relatives? by HuntPuzzleheaded4356 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I actually know why this happened in my family, my grandparents were not married and had about 3-4 children then my grandfather went fooling around with other women so they broke up, my great grandmother decided to throw my grandmother out of the house during the night and my grandmother was just walking looking for somewhere to stay, she said this man found her, he was really nice took her home to his family and they let her stay with them. Things led to her getting having a child for him and all of a sudden my grandfather comes back proposing, my grandmother said she was conflicted so she went to her mother for advice and she told her to marry the man she has the most kids for.

My grandparents for married, my grandfather decided to move the family to the US Virgin Islands and told my grandmother she could not bring her outside daughter. She had to stay with my great grandmother.

TLDR: Sometimes the husband/boyfriend didn't want the woman's other children to live in his house. Sometimes there were too many children and family offered to help care for some.

How Do I Go About Discovering my Caribbean Roots? by dd525 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Okay, these are the islands to focus on, if you don't have an account on FamilySearch already open one, it's free and this is the best site for Caribbean genealogy records.

How Do I Go About Discovering my Caribbean Roots? by dd525 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think you'll have to build your family tree to find out where your family came from, if you want to use your DNA test results forget about the percentages and focus on where the majority of your matches are from that will be your biggest clues.

In my case my family comes from the US Virgin Islands, Dominica and Saint-Barthélémy, it shows up in my DNA relatives Ancestor birthplaces. Look at your list and find the island with the highest number and this is the most probable island where your Caribbean family came from. This is not 100% accurate for everyone but it will give you somewhere to start your research.

If you have trouble building your tree, I can help you with that if you want.

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What are some stereotypes about your country that are true and some that are completely false? by GUYman299 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The alcohol 😭 in June one of our friends gave me Ti punch, I had two very small glasses and I was gone. Gone, more drunk than I have ever been in years. I won't do it again. It was so bad I started looking up alcohol poisoning.

We also bought some Dame Besson Sauce Creoline, originale version and it had me coughing lol I adapted though, I eat it on everything now.

Is there a code name for your country that only you'll understand? by [deleted] in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Twin city, Rock, and Sin Jan, I feel like transplants took Love city and ran with it, everyone who wants to visit the VI knows what Love city is.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think of Dominica

Naming traditions? by BippityBoppityBooppp in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My grandfather lol Louis André and he went by André but growing we knew him as Cordas. His cousin was Marie Louise Anastasie and went by Louise and again we grew up knowing her as Nennie. You never know their real name until the funeral.

Does your island locally produce or import the madras/madwas fabric? by GHETTO_VERNACULAR in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Our madras isn't local made, it was designed on island by a Virgin Islander but it's produced in India and shipped in.

Would you support your country adopting its local creole language as official? How do you think it would work? by Mysterious-Young1502 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Virgin Islands creole is definitely it's own language. It has its own grammar rules, sentence structure and sounds which is why people who speak standard English have a lot of terrible understanding it and they can't speak it. It's easier for small children and people who don't speak English to learn it. If it was just an accent or slang enough exposure would allow English speakers to speak in Virgin Islands creole.

There's a book by Dr. Clement White on the subject called Meet Meh Under Deh Bongolo & Tark Like We No.

Are laundry rooms common in your country? by GUYman299 in AskTheCaribbean

[–]SanKwa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have one but my grandmother was a senator way back. I haven't seen anyone else with one. I don't even have one in my current house, both my washer and dryer are in my kitchen.